It’s almost 16 years since the death of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor, who was stabbed on the North Peckham estate in south London, where he lived with his parents and two older siblings.

It was a crime that shocked the nation. Now a feature-length drama, told primarily from the point of view of Damilola’s father, Richard, reveals the personal story behind the headlines, following his journey from Lagos, Nigeria, to London, and the family’s quest for justice.

It was the now instantly recognisable picture of Damilola smiling at the camera, looking like he might burst with laughter at any point, which was etched onto executive producer Colin Barr’s mind.

“Quite often with these stories, we’re all guilty of having lazy assumptions about what a story is, from what we read in the newspapers or what we see on television, and I thought it would be interesting to see behind all of that,” he said.

“It’s not the killer’s story [two teenage brothers were later found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years in youth custody], it’s not the judicial system’s story, it’s not the story of the police, it’s not the story of anything other than the Taylor family.”